Well I'll go out a limb here & make a different comparison. BMW vs Mercedes.
I replaced my 2003 X5 with a 2007 MB E550. This made in Germany sedan is so many levels above the X5, my opinion of coarse, that any loyalty I had to BMW ended with this purchase.

My wife in on her third ML now, a 2013 350 equipped with the enhanced off road package. I leased 2 GL450's and currently a 2013 ML350 Bluetec. My Bluetec is incredibly powerful & fuel efficient. It's quiet. The interior finish is spectacular. As well it should be for a $65K + vehicle.

As LaredoX comments, it is just not a fair comparison to put a Chrysler product up against a BMW, or worse a Benz.

I've just retired, and as such I'm turning in my ML350BT. I test drove a Limited with the diesel option. Too noisy & too unproven for my liking. The Hemi option I chose for my Limited I felt is a pretty well proven powerplant, and gives me nice acceleration when I want it.
I was able to get a very well equipped JGC for about $45K. A well equipped ML would run $20K to $25K more.
I'm very pleased with my choice.

Thank you that is the first objective post in this thread... Agree with you on the steering but that's subjective though because of the electric power steering which some people love but I am not a fan of either especially in a sports car but unfortunately the automobile industry is... have you driven a new f30 compared to an e90... Ill take the e90 any day but there are a lot of BMW owners who love the f30's electric p/s.... then again I don't understand why they took the v8 out of the new m4 either...lol

I have driven the new F30 and I don't like that either, the E90 is a lot better. I used to own the 1 series convertible and that was a blast to drive.

I get that some people like the dead over boosted feel you get from EPS but Lexus and Mercedes were already catering to them. BMW decided to ignore their long term customers and go after that market. That's their business decision, but as a long term customer I am not going to support it. I will just buy a different brand of car. I

LaredoX, I will accept the title of "fanboy" if you want to include me with those who have lauded Jeep in this thread. My most compelling reasons for selecting the Grand Cherokee over the BMWs, Acuras and Lexuses we drove while shopping was the value, appearance (we were not wild about the looks of the X3 and felt the GC is a sharper looking vehicle), projected longevity (we kept our last vehicle 14 years and 182K miles) and winter driving capability. Neither the 1979 5-series nor the 1999 3-series sedans we have owned had X-Drive. It's supposed to be a great system, but consensus shows the run flat OEM tires are a concern for winter traction. We do have 14 years experience driving a Grand Cherokee in Northern Idaho winters and that car's prowess in icy / snowy conditions was unimpeachable. We are not "off-roaders", but we do like the high clearance and sure-footed performance of the Jeeps in winter driving.

We began our search really wanting the BMW for sentimental reasons and also to recapture the "Ultimate Driving Experience" that we'd enjoyed with both the BMWs we'd owned and with others we'd driven over the years. But we didn't see it with the SUVs...at least not enough to justify the price premium and all but guaranteed expensive repairs down the road. We intend to keep this vehicle at least 10 years. BMW may foot the bill for 5, but after that the upkeep can become scary expensive. Been there, done that...pretty much the reason we got rid of the 328i.

LaredoX, I will accept the title of "fanboy" if you want to include me with those who have lauded Jeep in this thread. My most compelling reasons for selecting the Grand Cherokee over the BMWs, Acuras and Lexuses we drove while shopping was the value, appearance (we were not wild about the looks of the X3 and felt the GC is a sharper looking vehicle), projected longevity (we kept our last vehicle 14 years and 182K miles) and winter driving capability. Neither the 1979 5-series nor the 1999 3-series sedans we have owned had X-Drive. It's supposed to be a great system, but consensus shows the run flat OEM tires are a concern for winter traction. We do have 14 years experience driving a Grand Cherokee in Northern Idaho winters and that car's prowess in icy / snowy conditions was unimpeachable. We are not "off-roaders", but we do like the high clearance and sure-footed performance of the Jeeps in winter driving. We began our search really wanting the BMW for sentimental reasons and also to recapture the "Ultimate Driving Experience" that we'd enjoyed with both the BMWs we'd owned and with others we'd driven over the years. But we didn't see it with the SUVs...at least not enough to justify the price premium and all but guaranteed expensive repairs down the road. We intend to keep this vehicle at least 10 years. BMW may foot the bill for 5, but after that the upkeep can become scary expensive. Been there, done that...pretty much the reason we got rid of the 328i.

The older E chassis BMW SUVs do provide the "Ultimate Driving Experiance". None of the new F chassis BMWs do including the current 3 and 5 series cars.

To all that posted in this thread the truth is "To each their own"... I'm happy for you all that you enjoy to drive the car you chose to drive and get that excitement from it... Sincerely...That's a nice reward that a lot of people don't get to have.

P.S. Im sorry... Its a sickness... Sometimes I wish I wasn't an automobile enthusiast. I wish I could be like those people that don't care about cars; just content to drive a corolla their whole life and not care or put any money into their car... lol

Just because I used to drive a 325i, I had to take a look at the new X5, and you guys are right...It looks like somebody blew it up like a balloon....all puffy in weird places. Looks to me like the designers got lost. But one thing I do have to say is that interior is definitely suuuweeet!
The thing is...there ARE people who need a car to pick the kids up from school, and yes, drive them to soccer practice and go grocery shopping. We often refer to these people as women or wives. And there are women in some social circles who just might feel better telling their friends they're driving a BMW than a Jeep...."You drive a what? A JEEP! EWWW!"
And if their husbands can be covinced that it is, somehow, beefy, or rugged, then the sale is easier to close.
That's how I read it, anyway.

Just because I used to drive a 325i, I had to take a look at the new X5, and you guys are right...It looks like somebody blew it up like a balloon....all puffy in weird places. Looks to me like the designers got lost. But one thing I do have to say is that interior is definitely suuuweeet! The thing is...there ARE people who need a car to pick the kids up from school, and yes, drive them to soccer practice and go grocery shopping. We often refer to these people as women or wives. And there are women in some social circles who just might feel better telling their friends they're driving a BMW than a Jeep...."You drive a what? A JEEP! EWWW!" And if their husbands can be covinced that it is, somehow, beefy, or rugged, then the sale is easier to close. That's how I read it, anyway.

I don't get the obsession with the new X5's looks. Looks fine to me and the JGC has some issues in the looks department such as too much chrome and the headlights look like they don't belong. Most mid size SUVs are used as family cars including JGCs.

As for buying the badge that applies to any premium German brand and both genders. However, judging from my experiences shopping a JGC so far, you do get something for that extra money. No high pressure sales tactics (no deep discounts either though) and service techs that can generally fix the car. BMW does have its share of lemons and my own X5 was once off the road for over a month due to a DME failure cause by water penetrating where it shouldn't. That said the QC seems excellent relative to Chrysler and in my 20 years owning BMW's major issues (requiring a tow Truck) have averaged about one per car or less. Fit and finish isn't in the same league.

Just played around on the BMW website building an X5 xdrive35i and one thing I noticed is the new X5 xdrive35i (optioned as close as I could get with features comparable to a 2014 Overland) the MSRP price is $64,700 according to the configurator. Now that's about 17k more than the Jeeps sticker so not surprising the BMW may have a more premium feel to it. Regardless of price I do think BMW builds a great vehicle which if you like it and the price fits your budget go for it.

The X5 looks those are always subjective and I haven't seen the new X5 in person but the pictures I have seen it looks ok to me so far.

One last comment - I still don't get why BMW on their SUVs that the rear view camera is still an option and Run Flat tires are standard instead of being an option.

Just played around on the BMW website building an X5 xdrive35i and one thing I noticed is the new X5 xdrive35i (optioned as close as I could get with features comparable to a 2014 Overland) the MSRP price is $64,700 according to the configurator. Now that's about 17k more than the Jeeps sticker so not surprising the BMW may have a more premium feel to it. Regardless of price I do think BMW builds a great vehicle which if you like it and the price fits your budget go for it.

The X5 looks those are always subjective and I haven't seen the new X5 in person but the pictures I have seen it looks ok to me so far.

One last comment - I still don't get why BMW on their SUVs that the rear view camera is still an option and Run Flat tires being standard and not an option.

Problem with the 2014 X5 is it has no real off road capability at all. Had to tow one out recently that got stuck in little mud and wet grass. Superior engines to anything Chrysler and Fiat have throughout the product line. Only engine that BMW cant beat is the Cummins. Just remember back in the mid 80's BMW had a 1.5l turbo I4 that pegged the dyno and was putting out over 1700hp. The engine block was a stock block that had only undergone weather tuning.

My wife ad I really liked the new X5...much better than the new ML. She actually liked the looks comparable to the 14 wk2. Its a little more girly to me than the wk2.....but a little more sporty looking. But as far as the interior being MUCh nicer with better materials/fit/finish than the wk2 is BS in my eyes. I forget all the models we looked at...but the leather in the summit was much nicer than the BMW's. Also all the materials but the leather seemed comparable to me. I really didn't see the $15k-20k difference in price IMHO. In the end my wife was won over by the audi a7...so obviously she was not biased with Jeep.....LOL.